Love on Ice (Manhattan Mavericks #1)

25. Harper

25

HARPER

I ’m freaking out. I’ve never lived with a boyfriend before. He’s not your boyfriend, remember, no labels. Whatever, I’ve never lived with a friend with benefits before. What happens if he gives me the ick? Then you’re going to have to deal with it. He might be messy. Last two hotels you have stayed at he’s cleaned up after himself. True. I’m overthinking this. You stayed together for a week in Paradise. But that’s Paradise, not the real world. Everything is going to be okay. Think of all the orgasms that man is going to give you every single night. That is a big positive. He is good at doing those. And you are excited to spend more time with him because you do have fun together. Plus, he’s a great guard dog.

The doorbell rings and I’m on the precipice of having a panic attack. I rush to the door, trying not to look too keen, and swing it open.

“Hey.” His bright, white smile greets me. Then he drops his bags, picks me up in his arms, and kisses the hell out of me. “I got you something,” he says, putting me down. He then hands me a bouquet of flowers. Aw. They are stunning.

“Thank you, you didn’t have to.”

“Yes, I did. I’ve come to invade your personal space, the least I can do is give you flowers. Plus, I wanted to.” Felix shrugs. He’s so cute. What the hell was I worried about?

“Come in. Welcome home,” I tell him, holding the door open for him.

He walks in with a couple of bags and then turns to me and asks, “Where should we start christening the house?”

“Harper!”

“Shit, get up,” I hiss as I sit up in bed and detangle my naked self from a very naked Felix.

“What?” he says, jumping to attention as he stands there in front of me, buck ass naked, which makes me giggle. “What’s so funny, woman? Someone is in your house.”

“I think it’s my mom.”

“Harper. You have a guest. It’s rude to keep them waiting.”

“Yes, it’s definitely Mom,” I say, jumping out of bed.

“What is she doing here? Does she usually drop in on a Sunday morning? Should I be wearing pajamas to bed?” he asks.

“You definitely are not wearing PJs to bed,” I say, slapping his ass as I pass him. “And no, she doesn’t usually come over unannounced like this, but I have a sneaking suspicion it has something to do with her favorite hockey player moving in with her daughter. We should be thankful she gave us most of the weekend to ourselves. I bet Dad told her the earliest she could come over was Sunday.” I put a bra on, grab a dress, and head into the bathroom to quickly run a brush through my hair because it looks like I’ve spent the night being thoroughly fucked. Which is true. Felix wanted to christen the entire house. Like a damn dog marking his territory. Thankfully, since he’s moved in, the constant fear of looking over my shoulder seems to have vanished. We went out for breakfast yesterday and strolled the streets. I was so busy chatting to Felix that I never checked my surroundings to see if Josh was there. The text messages have stopped. So maybe this crazy plan of moving Felix into my home is working. It did help that we posted photos of him moving in. The internet lost its mind over that, and the fighting in comments was out of control. They all thought we were moving way too fast, and they weren’t wrong if this was a normal relationship, but it isn’t. Sure, does feel normal.

“I’m coming,” I call down as I watch Felix panic and try and put some jeans on, hopping around on one leg. “Don’t panic, my parents love you, remember you’ve already met them.”

“Yes, but that was before I was dating their daughter.”

I walk over, wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss him. “They love you.”

Once dressed, we walk down the stairs to the living room, where I see Mom and Dad.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this early morning visit? And that key was supposed to be for emergencies,” I tell my mother.

“This was an emergency, sweetheart, your mother wouldn’t stop demanding to come over and see the two of you,” my father says, getting up and giving me a kiss before greeting Felix.

“I wanted to see the two of you in your new home,” my mother states.

“This is still my home,” I tell her.

She waves my comment away. “Felix, sweetheart, it’s so lovely to see you again.” She walks over and kisses him.

“It’s lovely to see you again, Mrs. Rose.”

“Your mother has a thing for your man,” my father whispers to me. “I tried to keep her away, but she is just so excited.”

“It’s not like he’s my first boyfriend,” I complain to my dad.

“He's the first one we like.”

Why didn’t everyone tell me how much they hated the guys I used to date? It would have saved me so much heartache in the end.

“Sweetheart, you’re not wearing that to brunch, are you?” my mother asks.

“I didn’t know we were going to brunch. It was the first thing I threw on.”

“I can tell,” she says, screwing up her face.

“Darling, we did just barge in on her home unannounced,” my father sweet talks her.

“True. We have brunch booked at eleven, you better go get changed,” she says. “Felix, you look perfect.” Of course he does. I roll my eyes as I head upstairs again.

“Guess we’re going to brunch.” Felix chuckles as we enter back into our room.

“Sorry about that. They’re not normally that pushy.”

“They probably wanted to check up on you. Make sure I’m looking after you,” he says as he heads into the bathroom to clean his teeth.

“They wanted to be nosey, that’s all.” I get changed into a more appropriate dress.

“Oh, you look cute,” he says, kissing me.

“Aw, thanks. I’ll be down in ten, just have to clean my teeth and do my makeup. Do you mind entertaining them for me?” Felix gives me the thumbs up while I continue to get ready.

We’ve just taken our seats at The Rose where we are handed our menus. Mother orders mimosas to the table without even asking.

“Guess you’re going to have to enjoy this because it won’t be long till you’re in training camp,” my father jokes with Felix.

“I still have to get through Europe, too. Looking forward to all the French & Italian food.”

“Felix does love his food. He has to stay fed all the time,” I tease.

“I’m a growing boy.” He grins as he takes my hand under the table and places it on his cock. I don’t react. I can’t believe he just did that. I give him a hard squeeze and he tries to hide it.

“What are you going to Europe for?” my mother asks.

“Two weddings. The one in France happens to be the same one Harper is going to.”

“You know Dirty Texas?” my father asks. I’m surprised he does.

“Yes, sir. I met them when I played in LA and became good friends with them. And the other wedding is in Italy, it’s my brother’s.”

“Oh, how fabulous. Are you taking Harper?” she asks.

“Mom,” I hiss.

“I did mention it in passing, but we haven’t organized anything yet,” he explains.

“Didn’t you go to school with his brother?” my father asks.

“Yes, I did.”

“What a small world. I don’t know how the two of you didn’t run into each other earlier,” he states.

“Any earlier and it wouldn’t be legal,” my mother teases.

“Mom!”

“What? It’s true,” she says, shrugging her shoulder. Universe, this is your moment to open and swallow me whole.

“I think we met at the right time,” Felix says, turning to me. Those hazel eyes twinkling with flecks of gold as he stares down at me.

“Aw,” my mother adds.

The waiter comes over to take our orders, and the rest of the brunch ends up going well until my mother has one too many mimosas and she starts to have loose lips.

“I bet you’ve changed your mind about that sperm bank now you’ve met the gorgeous Felix,” my mother says. I swear the entire restaurant goes silent. Felix looks like a deer caught in headlights as he looks between my mother and me.

“This has been great, but I think um … I need some fresh air.” I stand up.

“Go, sweetie,” my father says.

“Did I say the wrong thing? I …” I don’t hear what else my mother says as I leave the restaurant. I love my mom, and there is not a malicious bone in her body, and I know what she was doing. She’s desperate for grandbabies, and she thinks if she puts the idea into Felix’s head, he might knock me up.

“Harper,” Felix calls out to me.

“I’m sorry about that. Mom isn’t normally that … weird. You fluster her,” I tell him as I turn around and start walking back home. Thankfully it’s not far.

“What did your mom mean back there?” Of course, he’s going to have questions.

“At lunch last week, my mother was pressuring me to give her grandbabies because all her friends have them. I said to her maybe it would be easier if I forgot about the man and just did the baby thing myself. I’m financially independent, I can afford to do this by myself. It might not look it, but I have a family that is supportive, even if they like to overstep boundaries.”

“Is that what you want to do?”

I shrug. “Maybe. It’s not like relationships have been working out for me … no offense.”

“None taken.”

“I thought as a woman, it would be easier than getting pregnant by some guy you’re dating who ends up being an asshole, and then you’re stuck for your entire life with baby daddy drama. I’ve seen so many friends go through that when they get divorced or break up with their partners.”

“You make valid points,” he says, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Look, I’m not looking to have a baby, but I think I might investigate getting myself checked out to see what my chances are of getting pregnant. I can do the tests to check how many eggs I have. I assume I’m going to be able to get pregnant naturally for the next few years, but that might not be the case. But if I know sooner rather than later, maybe it will save me from wasting years I don’t have trying to get pregnant naturally,” I explain to him. “Wow, I’m sorry this is such an intense conversation to be having on a Sunday.”

“Guess I’ve never thought about it.”

“You don’t have to. Men can have babies till they die.”

“So, you want a family?” he asks.

“One day. I don’t see myself living in the city forever.”

“Wow. Never thought you would leave the city,” he teases.

“I’m not that much of a princess.” I glare back at him. He narrows his eyes back and we both burst out laughing. He gives me his hand and I take it. “Again, I’m sorry about that conversation.”

“It’s fine. Actually, I do have a question,” he says.

“Sure, what is it.”

“This is your official invitation to be my plus one at my brother’s wedding, in Italy. What do you say?” he asks.

“I do love Italy, but your brother isn’t a fan of mine, and this is his special day.”

“I asked him. And he said he didn’t mind you coming as my date.”

Harper looks skeptical. “He did?” I nod.

“Yes.”

“Fine, I guess I could suck it up for a weekend,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him.

“Good, because the things I have planned for you …” he growls into my ear, sending shivers over my body.